Political Quotes

“My legislation would provide a much-needed ``commencement of construction'' extension to the FERC permit for the Enloe Dam Hydroelectric Project located in my Central Washington district. The Enloe Project is located at the existing Enloe Dam in the Similkameen River Valley, which is situated approximately four miles upriver of the City of Oroville. The original dam was constructed by BLM in 1920 for power generation but operations ceased in 1958 when the Bonneville Power Administration extended a high-voltage transmission line into the Okanogan Valley. However, since 1958 the dam and its related power-generating facilities have sat dormant and the Okanogan Public Utility District (``District'') is now working on the proposed project to re-energize this infrastructure for hydropower development, as well as to relocate the site to the opposite bank, which offers numerous environmental and construction advantages. The proposed 9 megawatt hydropower facility has faced several setbacks and regulatory hurdles, which have been addressed but have also delayed progress. However, despite these challenges the District has made considerable progress in fulfilling all of the pre- construction obligations contained in its FERC license. H.R. 2828 would ensure this critical hydropower project can move forward and provide important renewable energy generation to the region.…”